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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-05-12 Daily Xml
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Disability Services

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (14:49): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Human Services regarding disability.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS: Point 7 of the 10-point plan developed in a recent mental health crisis meeting included John Mendoza saying:

There are over 50 beds, nearly a third of total capacity across CALHN, occupied by NDIS-ready and/or eligible clients. Some have been stuck for over 1,000 days in a small room. The average length of stay for 40 of these patients is over 620 days, and 26 of them are over 900 days. This is deplorable and a violation of human rights.

My questions to the minister are:

1. Given that the minister is responsible for disability and housing, and that this issue relates to NDIS-eligible people, what exactly has the minister done to address this violation of human rights and ensure that people have access to disability support and housing?

2. How is the minister's failure to act adding to ramping and mental health patients spending days in emergency rooms?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:51): I thank the honourable member for her question. The issue of people in long stay—who are categorised as, I think the term is, 'long stay'—in our hospitals is something that has not happened overnight; it has been an issue that has been around, for anybody who has worked in the hospital system as I have, for some decades and is something that clearly needs to be rectified.

There are a number of parts to the issue for all states and territories in the commonwealth in terms of housing policy going forward to assist people with disabilities to obtain appropriate accommodation. There have been and will continue to be working groups across the South Australian government, because there is a range of different parts to the system. It is fair to say that into the future the appropriate accommodation for people is much more community based and purpose built. There are some really fantastic properties available to people, which have come onto the market in more recent years.

This particular issue is something I have advocated for at the Disability Reform Council. I have had discussions with the new minister, who is quite well aware of the challenges in this space because it is a matter of not just the public and the social housing system but also how we make the payments that may flow from the commonwealth to assist people to live in either the private rental market or to own their own home.

I have spoken in this place in terms of our affordable properties that we built for sale. A young man has moved out of community housing and bought one of these properties because it has been built to silver standard. There are a range of parts to the puzzle in terms of lining up the supported independent living, the SDA and EHO, which is exploring housing options funding when people want to move out of housing. We also have been actively working with providers in this sector to ensure that support coordinators know that alternatives are available.

It is fair to say that South Australia's market for that diversity of supply is quite immature. It is something that I have personally spoken to the federal minister about, and we have had a range of actions between providers—DHS and SAHA—to ensure we are improving the supply available for people so that people are not stuck in hospitals.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Pnevmatikos with a supplementary.

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